Corruption in politics is a fact, not a perception - Prof. Adei

“Corruption distorts the national development and at the end of it, everybody pays the highest price and therefore what I’m saying is that corruption in politics and in public services, if you look at the Auditor General’s report, it’s not a perception, it’s a fact”, these are the words of Former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Stephen Adei.

The academic, speaking on the ’21 Minutes with KKB’ show touched extensively on the issue of corruption and how it has eaten into the cracks of the country. It is rather saddening he noted, the fact that the severity of the canker has created the situation where Ghanaians naturally expect it from every individual involved in politics.

“Let us not mince words, our politics and our public services are ridden with corruption. The average MP spends about half a million cedis to win the seat, how much do they earn for you to earn half a million?....how much will you earn in 4 years, if they were not otherwise profiting, it will be in economics term, irrational”, he said.

“It doesn’t mean that every one of them is but it is there and in fact to such an extent and it is becoming a culture, many ordinary Ghanaians expect them to be corrupt because they make demands on them far beyond what one could say they could earn”, he added.

He was emphatic about culprits facing the full consequence of their actions to deter others from engaging in same.

“It’s a very serious one that has to be tackled and made sure that we make corruption a very expensive business so that attempting it, you’ll know that there’ll be consequences”.

Professor Stephen Adei believes the time has come for former heads of state found culpable of corrupt dealings during their tenure to be jailed.

Reaffirming the general speculations of corruption in public institutions and politics, he stressed the need for some former Presidents to be incarcerated after their three years of immunity end.

“If you are a president and you ‘chop-chop’, in three years, there’s evidence you’ll go to Nsawam and it’s high time some presidents go to Nsawam,” he noted.

The economist called on the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu to investigate all past presidents adding that “if he finds something against a retired president, he should just prepare the dossier. In three years when his immunity is (over), you catch them”.